Sikander Hashmi – The Strong Believer Video Quality Fixed KMA Friday Message
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Respected elders, dear brothers and sisters, my young
friends,
In the world today,
we see
that the powerful
rule
and very few
have the courage
to challenge those with power.
And they generally get their way, and in
many cases,
with impunity.
No one is able to do anything or
challenge
those who abuse and misuse their power.
But my brothers and sisters, this has been
the norm
in the world and it is nothing new.
The reality
is that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given
each of his creation.
Each of his living creation.
Some form of strength,
power, and ability.
Some
of these living creatures,
whether they are human
or animal or others,
will have
some type of strengths
and abilities and power,
and others will have perhaps some other types.
And the levels between them will also vary.
Meaning, everyone will have different strengths. Because not
everyone is created
equal. Right? Even amongst the human beings,
some will have some strengths and others will
have other strengths.
But what happens is
is that in society, we generally focus on
a few types of strengths.
And disregard the other strengths that Allah
may have given us.
Now, each will have a basic level of
strength, ability, power that Allah
has given.
And the way that people normally
describe it these days is to say that
it is by nature.
It is by nature.
And then there will usually be some more
that Allah
gives after making effort
and through some training.
After making some struggle.
And that is generally referred to as nurture.
Right? They ask the question. Is it nature
or nurture?
So, some of it is nature
and some of it is nurture.
Then, there will be a limit or ceiling
set by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
That one cannot go beyond
regardless of how much one tries or trains.
You know how they say the sky is
the limit. That's not true.
The sky is not the limit. The limit
is what Allah
has set as the limit. It could be
the sky, it could be below the sky,
it could be above the sky.
The limit is in the hands of Allah
And this goes for physical strength, this goes
for mental strength, this goes also for spiritual
strength. So for example,
human beings can lift weights.
And the world record, surprisingly, I didn't know
this, for weight lifting is £6,270.
Okay?
This record may be broken by a bit,
but there's a limit to that to that
limit being broken by a human being.
Right? For example,
if it's an extremely
heavy weight like an airplane or a mountain,
we can safely say that a human being
is not going to have enough strength to
be able to lift that up because it
is beyond the limit that
Allah has has decided for the human beings.
Similarly, in terms of intelligence, the highest recorded
IQ is
263.
So maybe someone will be able to beat
that by a bit, but even with our
intelligence,
there is a ceiling, there is a limit.
That is
that is by design from Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala.
Spiritually as well, we can keep getting closer
to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
by making
and by trying to get closer to Allah
especially
through, first of all, the obligations
as
has told us. And then by optional deeds,
by doing the the extra deeds and a
person get keeps getting closer and closer to
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
until Allah loves
them.
However, there is a limit to that as
well for us because
a person can become the greatest of Allah
the greatest friend of Allah, but can never
reach the level of the prophets or the
Sahaba
So even spiritually, there is a limit to
how far we can ascend and how far
we can progress. Now, in this world, people
equate
equate strength
and abilities
with success.
But what does Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala say?
Now, the prophet
shared something very profound with us
regarding strength.
The prophet
said that a strong believer
is better
and is more lovable to Allah
than a weak believer,
and there is good in everyone.
And then the prophet
goes on and he says, but cherish that
which gives you benefit. Meaning, true benefit. Meaning,
in the hereafter.
And seek help from Allah
and do not lose heart.
And if anything, meaning in the form of
trouble, comes to you, in the form of,
challenges and struggles comes to you, don't
say, if I had done this or if
I had done
that, it would not have happened so and
so. But say instead
that
he said,
Right? That that Allah
did,
what he had ordained
to do,
and your if. The saying of the using
the word if, thinking of
challenges that have come to us, it opens
the gate for Shaitan.
It opens the gate
for Shaitan.
So, as we know, we often hear the
or
So this should be our approach
to,
challenges,
struggles,
tragedies that come to us despite
our wanting to avoid them, despite our efforts
of trying to
protect
the decision of Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala. And the prophet said,
that if you start thinking, dwelling too much,
thinking of if I had done this, if
I had done that, then that opens the
door
for Shaitan. So, we learn a few things
from this hadith. First of all,
a strong believer
is more,
loved, is better
in the eyes of Allah in the sight
of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala than a weak
believer.
Okay? A strong believer is better and more
loved by Allah as compared to compared to
a weak believer, number 1. Number 2, there
is some goodness in everyone.
Right? It doesn't mean that if someone someone
doesn't consider themselves to be strong or considers
themselves to be weak, that they are written
off. It is not like that. Rasulullah he
sallallahu alaihi wa sallam has said that everyone
has goodness inside of them. Think of it
like a seed. There is a seed of
goodness inside of you that Allah
has put,
particularly by virtue of your iman.
So now, you need to work to grow
it, to nurture it, to feed it, to
give it the ingredients that it needs so
that it can flourish.
So don't let it die off. There is
some goodness inside of you regardless of how
strong or how weak you may consider yourself
to be.
So continue to work towards that. Thirdly, cherish
the things that give you true benefit.
Cherish the things that give you true benefit.
So be focused.
Have a laser like focus
on the things that benefit you truly, meaning
the things that are actually gonna have a
positive impact on your hereafter.
Be focused. Cherish those things. Value those things.
Don't disregard them. Don't think of them as
secondary.
Don't overlook them. Don't leave them as an
afterthought.
But rather
cherish those things and focus on the things
which are gonna grant you true benefit.
Fourthly, seek help from Allah
Right? Nothing can be achieved
without Allah's permission and Allah's support.
Right? We are nothing.
We
and our efforts
are nothing.
If it's not for the permission and the
support of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So,
seek help from Allah.
Do not lose heart.
What does that tell us? It tells us
that we will face challenges. We will face
struggles but don't give up.
Stay
positive and keep going.
Right?
And finally, if any trouble comes to you,
accept it as the decree of Allah
Don't say if this or that. Now, by
the way, just as a side note here,
doesn't mean that we should not reflect over
our decisions and that we should not take
lessons from our mistakes. It doesn't mean that.
Yes, you can do a postmortem. You can
look back and say, okay, what could have
I done better?
Okay. But don't dwell on that with regret
and continue to think about it constantly. That,
oh, if I had done this, if I
had done that. K? Don't go into it
too much. Yes. You learn some lessons and
then you accept it as a decree of
Allah and
you move on.
Why? Because doing so gives shaitan an opening
to play with your iman and to play
with your mind. Now,
Allah
already knows
that some people will be stronger than others
and others will be weaker than others. Right?
Of course,
Allah is our creator. He is all knowing.
So Allah
knows that already.
But as mentioned earlier,
each person
is given some strength to start off with
and then needs to work to get more
from Allah
So here, we are getting encouragement
to not just remain
at the level that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
has given us to start off with
but rather work to build our strength to
whatever limit that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has
set for us.
K. So don't be stagnant.
Don't be stagnant. Don't be stationary. But rather
keep working
in trying to build up
and gain that which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
has given you the potential from for but
remember that it will come only from Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala. We make the effort, the
results
are always in the hands of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala no matter what it may be.
Now, when we think of strength, my brothers
and sisters, the first type of strength, of
course,
that peep most people think of is
physical strength.
Right? Naturally, that is what most people will
think of. Now, in a few places in
the Quran, Allah talks
about physical strength.
So for example, Allah
says in Surah Fusil at a number 15.
As for Ad, the people of Ad, they
acted arrogantly throughout the land with no right,
without any justification.
They were boasting. And these to say, who
is superior to us in might? Who can
be more powerful than us? Who is more
powerful than us in strength, in in might?
Allah
says,
Did they not see that Allah himself who
created them was far superior
to them in might. Still they persisted in
denying our signs.
So we learn from this that strength and
power
can lead to arrogance.
And arrogance is hated by Allah
and can lead eventually to denying Allah
And we have many other examples of this
misuse of power or, you know, power driving
people towards arrogance and disbelief
and examples in history as well. So, therefore,
we must be very careful that as we
try to build up our strength
beyond what Allah
has given us to start off with, we
must be careful that we do not become
arrogant
and we do not become deniers
in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And in fact,
Allah
tells us that if they had believed and
repented, then Allah would have actually granted them
more. If they had submitted, they would have
actually received more.
In Surah Hud, I have 52.
Prophet Hud Alaihi Salam told his people, and
all my people, seek your lord's forgiveness.
Do
seek your lord's forgiveness. Turn to him in
repentance.
What will happen? He will shower you with
rain and abundance
and add strength
to your strength. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will
will increase you in the strength that you
already have. So, do not turn away persisting
in wickedness.
Allah
also tells us, I have 13 in Surah
Muhammad.
Allah says, how many societies we destroyed
that were far superior in might than your
society which drove you out addressing Rasulullah Sallallahu
Alaihi Wa Salam. And there was none to
help them. Now during the context of the
battle of Badr which occurred on 17th of
Ramadan
in the 2nd year after Hijra, Allah revealed
the worst in
number 60.
During the course of the battle, Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala or in the context of the
battle, Allah
revealed
that
prepare against them, meaning your enemies who wish
to harm you, prepare against them what you
can of power and cavalry to deter Allah's
enemies.
And your enemies as well as other enemies
unknown to you but known to Allah.
Whatever you spend in the cause of Allah
will be paid to you in full and
you will not be wronged. So we learn
from this my brothers and sisters that strength,
physical strength is also a form of deterrence.
A cane against those who wish to cause
harm,
but it should not be used for aggression.
It is a form of deterrence
of keeping those away who wish to cause
harm, but it should not be a form
of or should not be used for aggression
because in the next verse, Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala says,
If
the enemy who wishes to cause you harm
is inclined towards peace,
then make peace with them and put your
trust in
Allah. So we learn from this that we
have been taught to be self sufficient. We
have been taught
to have strength, to build strength individually, collectively,
so that we can defend ourselves
and we can serve Allah
better. Now scholars mentioned that one of the
reasons that Allah
loves strong believers more is because perhaps they
have more stamina and more energy to do
more good and to strive harder for the
sake of Allah
But also remember that strength and weakness are
relative terms. So it may be
that, you know, it may be just that
someone who has, you know, more it may
be just referring to or it could include
someone who just has more strength,
more resolve, and more focus to do more
good for the sake of Allah
relative to those
who are around them or who are in
the midst of them.
Now, also, in order to be strong, one
has physically strong, one has to have good
health.
And
it is commendable, it is encouraged to put
effort into maintaining good health. Developing, maintaining good
health with this intention.
Because Rasulullah
once,
came to the to the companions,
radiAllahu an whom with traces of water on
his head related by from
his father that his paternal uncle said this
reported this. So the companion said one of
the companions said that we see that you
appear to be in high spurge to high
spirits today. So he said to Rasulullah you
appear to be in high spirits.
So Rasulullah
said that, yes,
then he spoke to then then the people
spoke about riches. And he said there is
nothing wrong with riches for one who fears
Allah. Meaning there is nothing wrong with being
wealthy
for one who fears Allah
but good health is better for one who
fears Allah than riches
and being in good spirits is a blessing.
So good health is important. It is a
great blessing from Allah
It should be maintained.
And if it is maintained
with the right intention, then
it will be rewarded as well.
Now, the scholars also mentioned that this strength
does not have to be. The strength being
referred to in the hadith does not have
to be physical.
Because can
be a strong believer who is strong in
their iman.
Can be a person who is, has strength
in their iman, in their faith in Allah
And a strong indicator that this could be
the intended meaning or one of the intended
meanings of the words of Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam in this hadith, lies in the fact
that the hadith goes on to talk about
faith
and not physical strength.
Right? All the things that we talked about
in, you know, seeking help from Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala and not thinking about ifs. If
I had done this, if I had done
that. All that has to do with iman,
has to do with faith, not with physical
strength. Or it could be that the rest
of the hadith helps us navigate
through challenges
that may come as a result of a
lack of physical,
as a result of physical weakness or as
a result of a lack of physical strength.
But spiritual strength can help help alleviate and
resolve
those challenges that a person might face because
they are not physically
strong. In any case, for both physical and
spiritual strength, my brothers and sisters,
efforts must be made to become
stronger.
Efforts must be made to become stronger. Someone
wants to become physically stronger, what do they
do? They sign up, they go to the
gym, they go for a jog outside. You
know, we're coming for Fajr. SubhanAllah, I'm amazed.
Coming for Fajr in the west.
Coming for Fajr in the winter time. Right?
Like, out there at 5:30 in the morning
in a snowstorm, and there's this one person
who's constantly
jogging every single morning.
Even the coldest of days.
Coldest of days, the snowy of days is
still every single morning.
Even the coldest of days.
Coldest of days, the snowy of days is
still out there doing their job, doing their
morning run.
So effort has to be made for the
physical strength but also for the spiritual strength
as well. So 2 things
to reflect upon and think about. First of
all, how can we build our physical strength
with the right intention?
So that we can serve Allah
better, and protect ourselves and the vulnerable when
needed, and get rewarded as well if the
niyyah is correct. Right? Imagine, you go for
half hour, an hour a day, whatever it
is. Okay? Or you're working out at home.
You have the right niyyah, insha'Allah, that becomes
a means of reward for you. That becomes
a means of
for you. Right? Or form of for you.
So do it with the right intention. Right?
You take care of your health, you're dieting,
you're looking at what you're eating. Do it
with the right intention,
it also can become a means of reward
for you. And secondly, how to build spiritual
strength?
Reflect upon that as well, which is the
core and foundation of true success in this
world and especially
the next. How can we take ourselves
from the starting point that Allah has given
us or where we are now and get
closer to Allah
get stronger
spiritually and also get stronger
physically
so that we can serve
Allah better in a greater way,
more, longer, with more quality, with more quantity,
and we can be able to protect ourselves
and those who are vulnerable
from the oppressors. May Allah
make us people of strong iman. May Allah
make us people of strong taqwa. May Allah
make us people of strong istakama.
May Allah grant us
strength physically,
spiritually, and in every way for the pleasure
of Allah.
I mean,
we had, some sad news.
The passing of the, father-in-law of our brother,
Mazin Al Hamsi.
So make dua for him and all of
those who have passed away.
Also had a dua request for a young
girl in our community, 3 years old, Salwa,
who will be having a a oral surgery,
inshallah,
soon. So we may ask Allah
to make that surgery for her easy. May
Allah grant her a speedy and complete recovery.
And for all of those who are ill
in our community and elsewhere,